A University professor is getting international recognition for her work in chemistry. Geri Richmond was awarded the Spiers Medal by Great Britain’s Royal Society of Chemistry for her research on the structure of water surfaces, according to a University press release.
The Spiers Medal, which is awarded annually, recognized the work of Richmond and her group in two areas of physical chemistry. Richmond said she was surprised and pleased by the award.
“It’s a body of work we’ve been involved with for 10 to 15 years,” she said. “The two aspects of this research have been the development of laser techniques and the discoveries we’ve made about the surface of water and how the molecules bond.”
The research has led to understanding the molecular properties of water and semiconductor surfaces and studying how those properties are vastly different from molecules below the surface, according to the Richmond Research Group’s Web site. The research group pioneered the study of how proteins on the surface of liquids interact when the liquids are added
together, through its use of infrared-visible
sum-frequency generation, an optical tool that studies liquid-liquid interaction.
The research has a wide range of application. Environmentally, Richmond’s research has led to studying how atmospherically important molecules absorb and react at the surface of water or a brine solution, according to Richmond’s Web site.
“Any honor I get is to honor my staff because they are a dedicated group of individuals,” Richmond said. “I’m pleased to work with them and share this award.” Oxford University’s Dr. Colin Bain said Richmond’s work places her among “chemistry’s elite.”
Larry Scatena, the Acting Laser Laboratory Director at the University, said that the group will continue to look at the fundamentals of its research and expand the field.
“(Richmond) gives people the opportunity to explore what they want and gives freedom and flexibility,” Scatena said. Apart from her research, Richmond is actively involved in other areas of the academic community. She is a member of the Oregon University System Board of Higher Education and was chair of the Oregon University System six years ago.
“She’s clearly a visionary,” Kirby Dyess, a fellow member of the board and also chair of the Business Advisory Board for the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business, said. “Her work with resizing the Chancellor’s Office at the University to help offset tuition increases is very impressive. The immediate impact of her work is for students.”
Richmond has also impacted the field of science as both a prolific writer of more than 120 articles in science journals and her Committee On the Advancement of Women Chemists program.
The Spiers Medal is the latest in a string of achievements for Richmond. Richmond’s awards include the American Chemistry Society’s Francis P. Garvan Medal of the ACS in 1996, the Oregon Outstanding Scientist Award in 2001 and the Spectrochemical Analysis Award of the ACS in 2002, according to the press release.

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